2. What is a Blog?
• Wright (2006) cited in Jin and Fisher Liu (2010)
defined blogs as self publishing systems on the
internet.
• Blogs are
– A way of sharing information.
– Useful method for multiple authors to contribute
content.
– Useful for news or crises sites.
– Also used as personal diaries, opinion pieces, political
statements, photo diaries and types of websites.
3. Why Blog?
• Initial websites did not have a Content
management system (CMS) and it was expensive
to update websites.
• Blogs were a way of adding ‘news’ or ‘latest
information’.
• Most Blog Tools are free.
• Useful for SEO as the ‘recency’ of items means
they are found by search engines.
4. Corporate Blogging
Ahuja and Medury (2010) claim that Corporate
Blogging is primarily about three attributes:
1.Information
2.Relationships
3.Knowledge Management
Source: Ahuja and Medury (2010)
5. Blogging Benefits for
Businesses
• To foster community and conversation.
• To drive traffic to the product website.
• To serve as a medium for interaction with
consumers.
• A tool to interact with partners, marketing
intermediaries, associates and components of
the external environment.
Source: Ahuja and Medury (2010)
6. Timeline
Blogger
started 1999, acquired
by Google 2003
Wordpress
started 2003
Figure 1 – Social Media Timeline
8. Who uses which Blogging
Tools?
Blogger Wordpress Movable Type Typepad
• Twitter • Smart Insights • Huffington Post • Seth Godin
• Alexa • Techcrunch • UNIQLO • Salesforce
• Evonomie (B2B • Mashable • Panasonic • Amazon
marketing) • CNN • Benetton Japan • Marriott
• Wife in the North • Reuters • MSN
• eBay
Figure 3 – Who uses which Blogging Tools?
9. BlogFrog
• http://theblogfrog.com/learn/forblogs.aspx
• A new type of blog software, mainly aimed at ‘Mommy Bloggers’
who want to share info and build community quickly.
• Available with Facebook login.
• Bloggers earning cash for blogging (Wang, 2012).
• See examples
• http://www.mamakatslosinit.com/blog/
• http://www.buriedwithchildren.com/
10. How to Start Blogging
WordPress.com - Step-by-Step Tutorial on How to
Blog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWYi4_COZMU
Google Blogger
http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?h
11. 8 Considerations when
Starting a free Blog
1. What is the focus of your blog?
2. What are your objectives?
3. Why should people read it?
4. URL – what do you want to call your blog?
5. And is the name available?
6. How will you get traffic?
7. How will avoid ‘post fatigue?’
8. How will you get viewers to interact?
12. 6 Considerations when
Managing a Blog
1. Who is responsible for the blog?
2. How is it integrated into the marketing
strategy?
3. Content: original, curated or guest authors?
4. How often should you post?
5. How long is a post?
6. How do you get viewers engaged?
7. How do you measure results?
13. Useful Content
• Downloadable documents that offer feature
comparisons of your product to your
competitors' products.
• Case studies.
• FAQs.
• Useful information for customers.
Source: Handley (2012)
14. Questions for you!
• Can you easily update your website?
• Does your organisation blog?
– What are the benefits?
• Do your competitors blog?
– How does it help their business?
– What are the main issues to consider when
creating and managing a blog for your
organisation?
15. Bibliography
• Ahuja, V and Medury, Y (2010) Corporate blogs as e-CRM tools – Building consumer engagement
through content management. Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management Vol17(2)
[online]
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&hid=122&sid=b4511553-0f78-412c-8d5
(Accessed 26 June 2012).*
• Handley, A (2012) Why content is still king. Entrepreneur, Vol40(1) [online]
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=10&hid=11&sid=b4511553-0f78-
412c-8d59-fd8d59e6cb76%40sessionmgr111 (Accessed 26 June 2012).*
• Hanlon, A (2008) B2B Marketing Blog, various posts and analytics [online]
http://business2businessmarketing.blogspot.co.uk/ (Accessed 23 June 2012).
• Hanlon, A (2012) Blogging and Blog Analytics, Recording on webinar for students, Oxford College
of Marketing [online], http://www.oxfordwebinaraddresstogohere (Accessed 28 June 2012).
• Hanlon, A and Rees, P (not yet published) Strategic Digital Marketing.
16. Bibliography
• Wang, J (2012) Advertising's new campaign. Entrepreneur, Vol40(4), [online],
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=b4511553-0f78-412c-8d59-
fd8d59e6cb76%40sessionmgr111&vid=9&hid=11 (Accessed 22 June 2012). *
• Wordpress (n.d.) http://codex.wordpress.org/History (Accessed 22 June 2012).
* available from EBSCO databases via MyCIM, Online Resources.
